Dave & Buster's Entertainment Inc Q4 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

The following is excerpted from the question-and-answer section of the transcript.

Question: Jake Bartlett - Truist Securities - Analyst : Great. Thank you so much. My first question was about, the more recent performance. And Chris, you talked about feeling more confident in the plan, more confident than ever. We also mentioned the results have been choppy quarter to date. We've seen that's an industry-wide. So what can REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. APRIL 02, 2024 / 9:00PM, PLAY.OQ - Q4 2023 Dave & Buster's Entertainment Inc Earnings Call you point to and hopefully could point maybe to some specific your change in trajectory here from January. But any more detail there, what gives you such confidence that the things you're actually getting more encouraging for you?

Question: Jake Bartlett - Truist Securities - Analyst : Great. That's really helpful. I appreciate the detailed response here. I guess the another question that I have is you understand that this year to implement these changes, but you also have to contend with where the consumer is right now. So we think about the price increases and we have found that pretty significant increase in the just cost per chip in for buy-in. Phase 2 is -- of the menu in changes isn't, I think largely increase in the chat. That's one of the biggest drivers to the sales impact. REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. APRIL 02, 2024 / 9:00PM, PLAY.OQ - Q4 2023 Dave & Buster's Entertainment Inc Earnings Call So it might be a good thing to do with is the consumer in a spot to take to accept some of those increases? Is this the right time, for the consumer? That's where I'm wondering about the quarter date and just how what you're seeing how the consumers actually responding to all of this in this particular environment? Any detail there would be helpful.

Question: Jake Bartlett - Truist Securities - Analyst : Great. I really appreciate it.

Question: Andy Barish - Jefferies LLC - Analyst : Hey, good evening, guys. I know you are not offering kind of guidance, you know today. But in your remarks, the press release, Chris, I mean, can you talk about adjusted EBITDA margin improvement in regard to fiscal '24, is that something that, even without the additional cost savings you were sort of thinking about as you come into this new year?

Question: Andy Barish - Jefferies LLC - Analyst : Got you. And then on the remodels it sounds like, the full remodels are where you're heading. I think, initially the split was more kind of half and half between kind of a full touches in the lighter touches. Should we be kind of thinking about that, over the next couple of years as being more skewed towards the full remodels at this point?

Question: Jeff Farmer - Gordon Haskett Research Advisors - Analyst : Thank you. Just wanted to follow up on the tiered pricing efforts, more specifically, how we should be thinking about the scale of those increases? Were potential skills, those increases -- anything you can offer there in terms of order of magnitude as you've gone ahead and made some changes to the pricing structure on the gaming side from amusement side?

Question: Brian Vaccaro - Raymond James & Associates, Inc - Analyst : Hi, thanks and good evening. Just a question on sales, if we can go back to that, Mike, I think you said you were running down low single digit comps up until January, which is if my quick math is right, January, it was down somewhat low to mid-teens. Year-on-year, I'm going to just confirm that was right, sir. Sorry, quick math here, but and if it is, I understand it's really murky, but how do you view sort of the underlying comp trend? And what's a reasonable expectation near term for when comps might stabilize if not turned positive moving through 2024? REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. APRIL 02, 2024 / 9:00PM, PLAY.OQ - Q4 2023 Dave & Buster's Entertainment Inc Earnings Call

Question: Andrew Strelzik - BMO Capital Markets - Analyst : Thanks for taking the question. I guess, it's been almost, I guess, a year since the Investor Day when you laid out kind of the earnings build towards you reviewed EBITDA targets. And so I guess I'd be curious to hear you kind of biggest step back and frame where you are now. In terms versus where you maybe would have expect to be at that point in time. Are there some of the initiatives where you're seeing more or less traction and then you expected or were your ahead or behind on time lines and kind of as you were to recast your expectations, anything that would have been different versus at that time?

Question: Sharon Zackfia - William Blair & Company, L.L.C. - Analyst : Hi, thanks for taking the question. I wanted to go back to the kind of phases of what you're doing with the gaming prices. I know you indicated that's been a positive going through to the bottom line. I guess I'm curious on kind of what amount of impact there is from maybe people staying longer. I mean is it or saying for a lesser amount of time because the Power Cards are eaten up quicker. I mean what is the -- or is there any potential offset that you're seeing to the game price increases?

Question: Dennis Geiger - UBS Equities - Analyst : Great. Thanks, guys. I'm wondering if you could just speak a little bit more to that, maybe choppiness content for the first-quarter. Are you recognizing you're appropriately, you're focused on the longer term strategic opportunities. But just maybe as it relates to anything you're seeing from a customer standpoint, whether it's across visits, other spending patterns of income or or age cohorts, anything to kind of call out there? And again, REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. APRIL 02, 2024 / 9:00PM, PLAY.OQ - Q4 2023 Dave & Buster's Entertainment Inc Earnings Call recognizing there has been a choppiness across the industry in recent months, but is there anything you could share on the customer behaviors, et cetera, in recent months, any kind of shifting, et cetera on that front?